After some reports began to circulate that Filip Zadina was looking at a professional tryout contract (PTO) offer from the Buffalo Sabres, his agent put the rumours to rest on Aug. 27, stating that he was nearing a full contract offer from another team. The potential PTO, it seems, was a fallback option, one that isn’t necessary anymore. According to insider Kevin Weekes, as many as three clubs were competing for his services. Could the Ottawa Senators be one of them?
The Senators aren’t a bad fit for the 24-year-old sniper. General manager (GM) Steve Staios has prioritized adding veterans to his lineup, and with 262 games under his belt since breaking into the NHL in 2018-19, he could easily slide into the bottom six in place of a talented rookie who may need some more development time. With the right deal, Ottawa could provide him the perfect opportunity to break out.
The Senators’ Current Bottom-Six
The Senators bottom six have long been criticized as a major weakness and last season was no different, with nine players combining for just 46 goals and 96 points. It’s been one of the areas Staios has most focused on this offseason, parting with six of those nine players, including Parker Kelly and Mark Kastelic, who looked like they had carved out a nice niche in Ottawa.
Just looking at the exits from 2023-24, the Senators are down 29 goals heading into 2024-25. To address that, they added Michael Amadio, Adam Gaudette, Noah Gregor, and Nick Cousins, who scored a combined 27 goals last season. Considering Gaudette played only two games, that pretty much makes up the deficit, bringing the team back to where they were. But where they were was far from good enough; the Washington Capitals had 136 points from their bottom six last season, while the Tampa Bay Lightning had 113 points, and both of those clubs barely qualified for the playoffs. Without any further changes, that doesn’t give a lot of hope for the Senators’ 2024-25 playoff chances.
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Even with the addition of Shane Pinto, who is expected to start the season centering the third line while Josh Norris takes over the second line, the needle doesn’t move that much, as Pinto only had nine goals last season (albeit over half the season). But he may not stay there long, especially if Norris misses a good chunk of the season again with injury. That leaves Ottawa with a significant goal gap…
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